


Differences

by Roposhipin



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, First Meetings, baby's first fanfic haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-14 15:37:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18951001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roposhipin/pseuds/Roposhipin
Summary: The Pale King and The Nightmare King agree to meet.Though had they expected the drastic differences between one another?Not at all.Either way, both are equally intrigued by eachother...





	1. Behaviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pale King accepts an audience requested to Him by a certain Nightmare King...

“The Pale king and I…”

“are nothing alike.”

Polar opposites if you will.  
The Nightmare King’s touch is that of piercing flames and Pale Wyrm’s...His hands are as delicate icicles that can make anyone go pale from even a mere poke.

 

When he first met The Pale Wyrm it was because the Nightmare King had requested an audience. Made a retainer of His dream of it and everything! The whole pizazz!  
It took awhile for the Wyrm to reply… though Grimm assumed He may have never even heard of anything such as a ‘Nightmare King’. And grimm didn't blame him. He rarely travelled around in his true form that often anyways. Usually seen as a travelling circus by many. A mere troupe master more than a king.

When the scarlet king had arrived he could swear he was going to lose his own sight. So white….so bright...blinding even. Though not as blinding as her light. Her’s was more warm and radiant. Though this Worm’s light was more gentle and soft. Pale…  
Grimm would have been surprised if the Wyrm’s subjects were able to see anything at all...

In contrast to the nightmare king’s extravagant entrance and respectful bow, the Pale Worm was….so polite. The Nightmare monarch almost felt offended at how mindful He was of His manners and His courtesy. Offended….more like the nightmare king felt as if he were being talked down to! As if he were a child that didn't understand The Pale King’s words...It was probably because He was on higher ground….it was laughable, how short the wyrm was. Grimm had expected something...bigger...especially for a king.  
Despite this, the king of nightmares pushed his judgements aside and approached Wyrm, curiosity overriding his prejudice.

The Pale king seemed very….stiff… frozen...not shivering. There was something looming over the king. Something He feared. Then again Grimm did request to be in the shorter king’s presence….He had predicted the fall of the kingdom…. Did The Wyrm know of his true interests? Why he even bothered to ask permission to speak with the other in the first place? No...He couldn't have! Unless He had access to her tools….dream nails or something the like. Something to pry into the minds of others…  
no that would be impossible- she hated this being!

_“Why have you come?”_

Ah? Who was that? Too quiet to be the king… the Worm was moving ahead and giving a silent tour of the palace-

 _“Do We need to repeat Ourselves, Nightmare King?”_ The nightmare king froze as the Wyrm paused in His tracks and turned His head to the taller figure.

The wyrm’s voice... hushed whisperings of untold truths. Like forbidden mysteries too incomprehensible for unprepared minds.

The scarlet king took a deep breath.

“Why have I come? Why it's because you accepted my request to meet you, pale worm.” The nightmare king’s voice was no whisper at all. Much more hoarse and rough compared to the pale wyrm’s.

The wyrm huffed, not pleased with the nightmare king’s supposed intentional alteration of ‘wyrm’. He turned away and continued onwards, guiding the taller king through the white palace.

_“You’ve come here for something...something more than just an introduction haven't you?”_

“Perhaps….But also yes for an introduction. First impressions are important, you know.” The scarlet king followed, the ends of his cloak flowing behind as if it were tendrils of flames.

_“You've made your impression….and We are already not very fond of you…”_

How blunt.

_“Now...tell Us why you're really here, Nightmare King…”_

The nightmare king in question tried to pick his words carefully, trying to avoid any ill will against the shorter king.

“...To see what the king of Hallownest is like, of course.” That made the Pale being freeze. Grimm only watched carefully.

 _“Are you satisfied?”_ The Pale King whispered, having his back towards Grimm. His wings twitched slightly, awaiting an answer.

“It's much too soon to make a decision, is it not?” Grimm chuckled, trying to lighten the mood but the Pale King’s rigid posture was not having it. The wyrm simply moved on, leading the scarlet monarch to the courtyard.

The Pale king released a tense huff as He stopped walking.

“No banquet? Drinks?” The nightmare king asked, half tilting his head to the side.

 _“We have no need for such material things…”_ The shorter of the two replied, finally turning around to face Grimm.

 _“We are a God. Does that really surprise you?”_ The Pale king sounded almost disappointed.

“No- no. I'm more surprised at your stature-” the scarlet king stopped himself, feeling the piercing glare he received.

_“You speak before you think, don’t you…”_

“Perhaps.” The nightmare king replied with a nervous grin.

Silence.

And then…

_“What do you desire from Us?”_

“Desire? Well…” should it be known? Will it anger the wyrm?

“I predict that you're kingdom of Hallownest will fall to ruin. Soon. How? I know no-”

 _“From her….”_ No, Grimm had not explored the depths of the kingdom much at all to know too much about the infection beginning to grow.

“Her…..yes… I was hoping to request your _most holy permission_ to set an anchor and settle down at some point here in your kingdom.~” Grimm bowed halfway through his sentence to put emphasis on his lighthearted, playful words.

Another silence. The nightmare king stood up straight after a brief moment.

“I mean no harm or interference, dear worm.~" He tried to reassure. "I merely just hunger for the ripened crimson essence soon to befall this doomed kingdom.-”

 _“No.”_ The Pale king tried not to interrupt though His reply was sharp.

“Excuse me?” Grimm scoffed.

 _“There will be no ‘doomed’ kingdom you hope for. We will not allow you to set an ‘anchor’ here.”_ Though His voice was hushed, there was an air of intimidation and unwavering certainty to it.

“Hmph. We shall see about that, worm. You have foresight do you not? Surely you know as well as I do that this ‘kingdom’ of yours has a bleak future. Sure, I may not possess that power but I do have a strong feeling-”

 _“What do you know about Her…”_ Grimm knew not how His whispers managed to silence him. Was it quiet enough for others to try to listen? Or was it forcefully shoving the words into the listener’s mind to shut them up?

“Her...the Radi-” the Pale King rushed forward, wings flaring as He held His sleeve over the scarlet monarch’s mouth with a _‘Sh!’_

 _“Do not speak her name...We've had enough reports of infected bugs as is. We do not need Our own court to accidentally stumble upon our conversation, think about her and then lose their minds.”_ The wyrm then backed off, briefly dusting his robes as his wings lowered. He returned to his straight, rigid, yet eerily calm composure, hands meeting each other at the ends of his sleeves.  
So polite and pristine...

The scarlet monarch huffed a small puff of flame in annoyance.

“...she is my sibling. Yes, yes. We are as day and night. We agree to disagree most of the time. We had a small little scuffle which led to our separation. The split between dream and nightmare.” Small was an understatement. She had pierced his heart, rendering his heart weak and incredibly dependant on the Ritual to survive. Nightmare Essence was scarce as he could only traverse for a short time. Too long in the dream and she might get territorial. Too long outside the dream and he could put the nightmare heart in danger. Not to mention how difficult it can be to find a fallen kingdom he hasn't already been to, let alone a summoner to summon the troupe to initiate the ritual at all…

  
...Burn the father, feed the child...

  
“Don't tell me you intend to kill her. Of course I don't care what happens to her. Despite our similarities I always did despise how she treated her subjects...controlling others while somewhat letting off her favourites...”

_“We do not intend to kill her. We are much too weak for that now. Maybe in Our past life...but right now? Not a chance…”_

“What is your plan then?” Grimm asked, amused and waiting for some ridiculous solution to come out of the Wyrm's mouth.

_“As of right now, We wish to contain her…”_

“Contain? PffhAH! In what? A jar?” Grimm mocked, laughing at the thought.

_“...We will give you more details on it if you make an agreement with Us…”_

“A deal?” The nightmare king ceased his laughter, squinting at the wyrm with suspicion. He tried to read the Wyrm's expression but there was nothing there but a blank gaze into nothingness.

 

_“Help me make a plan to stop her. And maybe then We'll decide to give you permission to ‘anchor’ and settle your troupe upon these supposedly ‘doomed’ lands…”_

 

After a moment of debating within the scarlet king’s mind, he silently held a hand out towards the Pale King. A hand to shake….to agree to the terms.


	2. Touch

_“The Nightmare King and Us…”_

_“...have very little in common…”_

  
A potential recipe for conflict….for disaster..  
That being was an entertainer! Not a king.  
Then again he could be useful….he was a being from dream...surely he must know something about her...

  
Did he really arrive with such dramatic flare? Pun not intended…  
Did he really have the audacity to address my height? The nerve of….

The Pale king’s expectations have receded...all unease towards this being gone due to his behaviour.

The Pale king knew next to nothing about the nightmare king before, requesting as many scholars and historians as He could to dig up as much information as they could about The Troupe.  
The one to confirm and debunk any questionable information was Monomon the Teacher. She had always worked overtime in such expertise that require much research and insight. She was the most reliable source of information despite the questionable cipher on her tablets within her archives….

 

  
He was worried when he first received the request of an audience. A retainer telling the king of hallownest that the arrival of a being of nightmares drew nigh if He so accepted it.

  
Later on…’worried’ was an understatement….

 

The Pale king rushed around setting everything in their place, ordering his subjects to organise this, fix that, tidy up here, put those over there. He was panicking once He realised who the Nightmare King was...what he was…  
A being that consumes nightmares that arise from a ruined kingdom. Surely His kingdom was going to be fine? Right? No….that would be sugar coating it… the looming threat of that blasted moth persisted despite His best efforts to destroy her physical form...how did she survive? She even plagued His own dreams. To the point where the Wyrm refused to sleep because He simply did not wish to see the horrors He saw within those dreams again. The screams of innocents. Frantic scrambling of claws of hundreds of different species of insects. Hands and claws clinging to Him, desperately searching for aid. For some sort of happy ending.

It was too much…

 

  
The pale king snapped back into reality upon a retainer alerting Him that the scarlet king had arrived. His chest felt tight, heart beating rapidly from ...fear…? No...that was probably the symptoms of being sleep deprived kicking in…

This will be fine...the Wyrm had already foreseen the events that would unfold from such an interaction. He followed the path that had been mentally laid out before him. He tried to be oh so careful about keeping himself in line….sealing himself within that future He foresaw.  
Though due to the Wyrm’s refusal to rest lately...His foresight faltered. Unable to see it as often as He was comfortable with. That or it was too blurry to see clearly...Those unforeseen days were when He would state He was either ‘busy’ or (only on rare occasions)‘sick’. Little excuses. He has to keep everyone’s trust. No one must know His health wavered.

  
...No cost too great…

  
He'd have to plan out his conversations around those brief moments of future vision.

 

Their first impression went more smoothly than what the Pale king expected despite having already seen it before it happened.

Though hesitant and uneasy from the thought of shaking hands with the scarlet monarch, He swallowed His pride and grabbed the other’s hand with his own, hoping the taller being wouldn't notice His partially stained hand….stained with a black substance from working on the kingmoulds and wingmoulds that guarded the palace grounds.

 

The moment their hands made contact, the two winced and almost immediately tore away from eachother. Unnerved and disturbed by the drastic change in temperature the two parties emitted. Both equally and internally thinking the exchange as unpleasant and totally unexpected.

The scarlet king’s claws were hot. Searing almost. Having the potential to sting if the claws were used aggressively.  
The Pale king’s were cold, glowing due to being made of soul. One would assume it was sub zero...that ‘one’ exclusively being Grimm…..

 

Indeed….they were almost direct opposites.

 

How was this possibly going to work? They might as well be enemies in another alternate scenario.  
But now?  
They had to work together. The deed is done. They awkwardly shook on it. The wyrm desperate for information whether it be useless or not. The Nightmare monarch desperate to survive and live another century or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter, more in the POV of pk chapter hahahhh. Or reflections from pk....
> 
> I see pk as more of a thinker. Moreso than Grimm anyways hahaha


End file.
